CNI News
25 April 2025
Although the State Administration Council (SAC) has lost most of the townships in northern Shan State, if the SAC get Lashio back, it has even gain without making a loss, Colonel Khun Okkar, chairman of the Pa-O National Liberation Front (PNLO-NCA/S), told CNI News.
The Kokang Army, the National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), which has seized and taken control of Lashio, is beginning the process of handing over Lashio to the SAC on April 21, 2025 at the latest.
Compared to the SAC's failure to gain anything in northern Shan State, that the SAC regains Lashio is not a loss for it, Colonel Khun Okkar, chairman of the Pa-O National Liberation Front (PNLO-NCA/S), told CNI News.
"Getting Lashio back will not be a loss for the SAC in comparison with getting nothing. The SAC's prestige will also be restored. Because Lashio is a key city. Lashio controls the trade route to Muse. Lashio controls the route down to Mandalay. It's necessary to keep these routes so that trade can be revived. China wants that, too. Regaining Lashio like this is cheaper and less costly than using military force, and has fewer casualties. However, the sense that Nay Pyi Taw's influence is back on the rise is a win for SAC. It's not a loss." he said.
While seeing the MNDAA flags were no more at the traffic circle in Lashio
After China brokered a temporary ceasefire between the Myanmar Tatmadaw the National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), Kokang forces were forced to withdraw from Lashio. On April 21, Kokang forces withdrew from the administration of Lashio, and reports said that Kokang flags were no longer flying in the city, leaving only the Myanmar national flag.
It is considered that The Kokang forces' handover of Lashio to the SAC due to the pressure from China. However, as a friend, China was advising relevant groups in Myanmar to pursue political reconciliation and restart the process of political reform, said the Chinese Foreign Ministry at a press conference on April 21.
That the SAC regained Lashio like that was encouraging for the SAC, Dr. Hla Kyaw Zaw, a China-Myanmar affairs analyst, told CNI News.
While seeing a place in downtown area of Lashio
"What was strange yesterday that China said they don't interfere in Myanmar's internal affairs. But, whether it is the negotiation issues or the Lashio issue, there are things that China is taking the lead in. In the past, China had done like this with the Khmer issue in Cambodia, the Sri Lankan issue, and the East Timor issue. As far as I know, China intervened as a peacekeeping force between the two sides and brokered a ceasefire. I had seen China developed that area. Now I can't say anything. They are still discussing. If the military council regains Lashio, it will be a morale booster for it. If the MNDAA wanted a basic area for the Kokang People, it wouldn't need Lashio. The MNDAA only needs the original Kokang region and a small area around it. So I don't know how they're going to regulate that. We'll have to wait and see." she said.
The Northern Alliance in northern Shan State and the PDFs have to retreat from all the towns between Muse and Mandalay and the towns reportedly include Kutkai, Theinni, Thibaw, Kyaukme, and Nawnghkio.
The MNDAA is reportedly stationed outside Lashio, although it must follow Chinese instructions.
